Armenia

Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals on stamps and postmarks of Armenia

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Contents:
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located in West Asia on the Armenian Highlands, it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.
Armenia is one of the most ancient countries of the world. It is a small country that connects Europe to Asia.
By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, while most of the western parts of the traditional Armenian homeland remained under Ottoman rule.
In 1918, following the Russian Revolution, all non-Russian countries declared their independence after the Russian Empire ceased to exist, leading to the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia.
By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, and in 1922 became a founding member of the Soviet Union. In 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics.
The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Today, Armenia is an independent democratic country with a population of around 3.2 million. It has a very large diaspora, an average of 8 million Armenians live worldwide.
Regular letter from Armenia, with stamp of Mammuthus trogontherii from 2019, sent to Germany in 2019
Regular letter from Armenia, with stamp of Mammuthus trogontherii from 2019, sent to Germany in the same year
Though Armenia is small its nature is very rich and original with its flora, fauna, minerals and stones. [R1]

Unlike areas such as Russia, China, and Mongolia, not much dinosaur fossils have been reported in Armenia. So far only few bones of dinosaurs and pterosaurs are known in the country.
The first Armenian stamps were overprinted Russian stamp, issued in 1919. Between 1922 and 1991, when Armenia was part of Soviet Union, Soviet stamps used on the territory of the country.
The first stamp of modern Armenia was issued on April 28, 1992 to commemorate Independence Day. On July 26 1992, another set of four stamps was issued for the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games before the first new definitives appeared on August 25 of the same year.
Earlier modern stamps were issued denominated in Rubles. On August 4, 1994, the first stamps to use the new currency, the Armenian Dram were issued. [R2] Nowadays, Armenia issue 40-80 stamps per year, with international sales office based in USA.
In 2017 Armenia started the multi-year set "Flora and fauna of the ancient world". Since then, the country has issued one or two stamps a year dedicated to prehistoric animals of the world.




Official stamps of Armenia that related to Paleontology: dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals

28.12.2017 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (I)" [1] 14.12.2018 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (II)" 27.03.2019 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (III)"
Pterosaur and Tyrannosaurus on stamps of Armenia 2017 Tepejara and Argentinosaurus on stamps of Armenia 2018 Mammuthus Trogontherii on stamp of Armenia 2019
16.06.2020 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (IV)" 06.05.2021 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (V)" 08.04.2022 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (VI)"
Diplodocus and Basilosaurus on stamps of Armenia 2020 Prehistoric snake Titanoboa and Velociraptor dinosaur on stamps of Armenia 2021 Triceratops and Liopleurodon on stamps of Armenia 2022

Notes:
[1] FDC of this set appeared in online store of Armenian Post and post offices in the country in the middle of January 2018. FDC of 2018 stamps issued together with the stamps


Postmarks and meter franking of Armenia related to Paleontology: dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals

Legend is here
28.12.2017 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (I)" [FDC] 14.12.2018 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (II)" [FDC] 27.03.2019 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (III)" [FDC]
Pterosaur and Tyrannosaurus on postmark of Armenia 2017 Pterosaur and Tyrannosaurus on postmark of Armenia 2018 Mammuthus Trogontherii on postmark of Armenia 2019
28.12.2020 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (IV)" [FDC] 06.05.2021 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (V)" [FDC] 08.04.2022 "Flora and fauna of the ancient world (VI)" [FDC]
Skulls of Diplodocus and Basilosaurus postmark of Armenia 2020 Skulls of Diplodocus and Basilosaurus postmark of Armenia 2021 Triceratopson postmark of Armenia 2022



References:


Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for reviewing the draft page and his very valuable comments.


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